This was my fourth Caliente, and each year I continue to be amazed at all the work Wildsville Man does to make this such an entertaining, personal and joyful event. I thought the musicians he selected this year were especially diverse, which mixed things up really nicely. The mug (Doug Horne!) and signature pendant (Tiki Ray!) are works of art. And great vendors! (Dirk Yates, I loved your pirate theme tent!) I thought the adults-only, late-night music shows were perfect. Kitty Chow and Fisherman, we're so glad to have you finally join us here in Southern California! The intimate vibe allowed me to have some real conversations with old friends and make some new ones. This was the perfect mini-vacation I needed to soothe my senses.

But, most important (to me, anyway), was the atmosphere Rory created. I'm a great believer that the amount of fun one has, whether it's at your job or at an event, trickles down from the top person in charge. I watched, massively impressed, as Rory personally greeted every guest and made them feel at home and very welcome. That's not an act. That's a gift. And it's elegant and old-school class. Several of this year's attendees were not necessarily Tikiphiles like the rest of us. They were just local people that saw the ads and wanted to play. Rory made them feel as "much of the party" as everyone else.

Oh, and Deanna and Trevor... your "S***load of Rum" room crawl drink? I still am not sure what day it is. My guess is you don't either.

Our second year, and we had a blast! I love how friendly everyone is - there's no sense of being and outsider or a newbie. Every time someone sat down next to us around the pool, we made new friends. Bringing the dogs along was a great icebreaker! Another of my favorite things is getting to talk to the musicians and artists in person - no snobbery involved. All seem genuinely grateful for the appreciation of their work - they obviously love what they do.

I will join in the chorus of thanks to Rory and all his helpers for putting on a fantastic event! I thought the hotel staff was great, too. My big lingering question though.... did Kitty Chow's ukulele ever get found?? I was heartbroken to hear of it going missing, and I never heard if it turned up.

Lisa (and Josh, and Pinky the chi and Pax the min pin/Manchester) from Upland, for those of you we met and chatted with

Peep’s of Caliente,
I would like to thank everyone for making Tiki Caliente 5 what I believe to be the greatest one so far. As I Believe everyone had a great time and received maximum entertainment for there dollar. I tried to do our best to be loyal to our regulars with still extending a hand out to some new tiki peep’s. I believe we hit the right combination.

With that being said,it did not stop me from having a restless nights sleep last night thinking about issues that could have been prevented. I would like to personally apologize to the rooms above the lobby that I did not warn about the late night bands. As I thought this was a fun add on show,I should have warned the surrounding rooms when they booked and gave them other options.I also want to thank BIGTIKIDUDE for D.J.ing the show and always providing a perfect setting with sound. I am sorry I forgot to mention you at the show. Also,as the event grows I continue to try and give personal attention to my friends who have been to Tiki Caliente of years past and some are not happy with the changes because they like the smaller shows and more personal style of the past,I believe as the show grew I try to be loyal and fair,but it has become an event and not a gathering and will be treated more like a business to be fair to all.

Several people mention that I was not as visible as years past and I am sorry for that.
I would rather hand the mic over to Crazy Al and other entertainers and enjoy more 1 on 1 conversations. Also with this event now hitting over 500 people I can honestly say there were times I was claustrophobic at my own event at times so I found myself retracting and maybe enjoying more cocktails at the night then in years past.

I look forward to an interesting Tiki Caliente 6 year were my biggest issue will be how to KILL the momentum. My goal was always 500 people max and i would like to stick with that number in following years. So to restrict the numbers you may see some slight changes in the future. I always said “I don’t want Tiki Caliente to be the biggest,only the Best”and I meant it.

So thank you again to everyone who was part of my vacation as well and I hope you believe I did my best to show you a good time.

Rory ”Wildsville Man” Snyder

see you this October with MOD-PalmSprings an Event were Modernism embraces it’s Tiki history.

Wow......all I can say is.....wow! This was the first time to Palm Springs, let alone Tiki Caliente, for the wife (Primitiva) and I. Man, what an outrageously fun time we had. Even though we were noobs, we were treated like one of the family by everyone there. I got to see and meet some of my Tiki Art heroes and hear some great music. Rory was an outstanding host and made everyone feel welcome. The weather couldn't have been better and the BBQ and drinks were outstanding! We snuck out for a little bit and visited the homes of Frank, Dean and Bing....what a treat! We also made some new friends that we will be staying in touch with. I mean, really, who could ask for more?! We are already making plans for next year......and this time we will be doing the whole Thur-Mon stretch! Mahalo to one and all!

You did a great job Rory. Happy Kitty Chow found her ukulele. I tipped her like crazy cause I felt so bad for her. Still well deserved. Her and Fisherman are awesome performers and kept it positive even though she thought she lost it and it was a tough night for her. Shout out to the Swank Bastards who are cool as hell and The Martini kings and all the rest of you cool Tiki peeps.

On 2013-05-20 12:22, Wildsville man wrote:The Ukulele was found in her room the next morning. But I have to thank her for making mine sound so good at the Adults Only show that night.
I thought it was broken but now I know it's Just me.

On 2013-05-20 12:25, Wildsville man wrote:I look forward to an interesting Tiki Caliente 6 year were my biggest issue will be how to KILL the momentum. My goal was always 500 people max and i would like to stick with that number in following years. So to restrict the numbers you may see some slight changes in the future. I always said “I don’t want Tiki Caliente to be the biggest,only the Best”and I meant it.

So much fun! Thank you Rory for a great event! Highlights for me were the early bird parties and fun with friends on Thursday, dinner at Lyon's, Magic with Marvyn, having fun serving the VIP folks with Rum Barrels, all the parties but especially late night with Deanna & Trevor what a blast! Thank you what gracious hosts! But I want to shout out a thank you also for our mood setters without them it wouldn't have been a true tiki event for me, Jeff, Bigtikidude spinning great music for countless hours and Tiki Ray who brought beautiful Tiki's! Both of those fellows really made the feel of tiki in the air & soul for me Thank You!